


Polyneux - 1998

by 2000skid80saesthetic



Category: Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?
Genre: M/M, Other, plus want to make longer chapters lol, rewriting this because i wanted to change some elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2000skid80saesthetic/pseuds/2000skid80saesthetic
Summary: (Rewritten version of my past take on a similar AU, 'Adaptations')Robot Jones continued his middle school studies up until 1985. His peers graduated to high school, however the robot was no where to be found. It was later found out that JNZ Robotics went bankrupt and were deactivating all their models, which of course included RJ. His friends, Mitch, Socks, and Cubey, were confused and saddened, but overtime all the memories they made with Robot became more and more irrelevant. They continued their lives in Polyneux, living simply and rather uneventfully.In 1998, a discovery would change everything.
Relationships: Mitch/Cubey
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short prologue! Using this to just plot some things out.

Robot Electro Jones used to be a well known face in Polyneux. The town's small size already made many people easy to recognize from a local resident's point of view, but the fact that Jones was a robot made him even more memorable. He was a prototype KX-8 model built by JNZ Robotics; and his mission was to study and collect data on Junior high schoolers. Due to his physical form and the way he processed information, Robot was seen as taboo and not worth many of the student's time. He did have a few friends and acquaintances, but he still couldn't properly survey the school due to his reputation. 

In 1985, his eight-grade year, he disappeared.

For years after, his close companions tried their hardest to find his whereabouts, but to no avail. JNZ went bankrupt, taking any chances to ask the company if they knew. Over time, many started to forget he even existed.

His friends moved on the best they could and grew into adulthood. Charles and Mitchell, who went by 'Cubey and Mitch' to Robot and most others, discovered many new things about themselves, including deeper feelings toward each other. Due to the times and the limited view many people had on relationships, they could not be public with it however. Charles worked retail at a local shop, and Mitchell worked at some restaurant. Later on, They made music and songs together to liven up their lives and as a side occupation.

Shannon, RJ's old crush, went on to become a dentist and worked at the town's dental office. Her own life was quite stable, yet she lived alone. Not comfortable with this, she adopted a small dog to help keep her company. Besides her job, she did enjoy drawing and painting in her spare time.

Timothy, or 'Socks', worked as an I.T. guy and lived quite uneventfully. He spent a lot of his time hanging out with Charles and Mitchell, or catching up with his work. He too lived alone.

Everything changed for them in 1998.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim decides to visit his friends after a while to catch up.

The road was awfully barren, with forest on each side. The sun shined through the foliage, close to the horizon. Tim usually didn't drive at dusk or even at night, but he couldn't pass up on the opportunity to get out of his house and see his friends again after a while. He's been busy with his job, and spent most of his free time either eating or sleeping because of it. It was exhausting for him, so having the chance to break that routine and do something enjoyable for once was exciting. His mates, Charles and Mitchell, invited him over to their place to catch up a bit and just hang out. They lived a bit farther out from the rest of the town however, which forced Tim to drive on this run-down and unsettling road. Well, unsettling to him. He's always been a paranoid person, even with small things such as this. Tim tightened his grip on the wheel and darted his eyes around, but never looked too far away from the road. 

Eventually, he made it to the place. It was a small apartment building, with only three stories and a small parking lot. He situated his car in a spot, and stepped out, shivering. Even with his heavier jacket on, the cold winter air and wind was still noticeable. Speed walking to the entrance, he took notice of a group of teens roughhousing and chatting with each other by the dumpsters on the side of the building. He wasn’t surprised, it was typical for kids to come out here. There wasn’t much regulation. A guy from the group shot him a look, and he averted his gaze to the ground. He reached the doors, and quickly stepped inside. There was an older woman at the front desk, smoking and reading from a newspaper. Her name tag read “Mary”. She saw Tim walk in and sighed.

“What do you need?” She said simply, taking the cigarette out of her mouth and extinguishing it in a small tray on the table. Tim resisted the urge to cough due to the remaining smoke. He really didn’t need his asthma to act up now.

“Uh, here to visit room 206” He responded, fiddling with his car keys. She nodded and picked up the phone to notify them.

“Yes, you have a visitor. His name is...” Mary paused and looked up at him, and he quickly said “Tim Morton”.

“...Tim, uh, Morton. Is it okay if I send ‘em up?” After a few ‘yeps’ and ‘uh-huhs’, she hung up and gestured for him to go on to the room. He mumbled out a quiet “thank you” and went into the elevator, pressing the button for floor 2. Once the doors slid shut, He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

‘Why does she have to smoke inside? Damn’ Tim internally said, before being interrupted by the doors opening to the floor. He stepped out, and went down the hallway until he reached room 206. Tim ran his hand through his hair, and knocked a few times. Charles opened the door a few moments later, and smiled when he saw it was his friend.

"Hey, it's Timmy! How's it been?" He opened his arms for a hug, and the other accepted the gesture, embracing him. Charles has changed a lot since middle school. His haircut was still quite similar, with it's messy bangs and such. He didn't wear those big shutter shade glasses anymore. He had a small bit of facial hair on his chin and upper lip. He wore a dark hoodie with the Atari logo in the middle, and black pants.

"Don't call me that, and I've just been tired" Tim said with some sarcasm. Charles laughed and left the hug to go close the door.

"I can tell. When's the last time you did anything besides work lately?" He asked as they both walked to the couch. Tim had to think for a moment.

"Well, I watched Jurassic Park last night if that counts... Then fell asleep halfway through" He said, plopping down on the furniture. Charles did the same and fluffed up a pillow behind his back.

"Ah. Well, I'm sorry you've been working so hard, really. It's not healthy to live that way dude, you need time to just chill more often" He spoke, itching his arm. As Tim was about to speak, Mitchell walked out from the kitchen holding a soda. He noticed the guest and nodded to him.

"Oh sup man!" He greeted, cracking open his drink and taking a small sip. Tim sat up and waved, and Mitch sat next to Charles. Mitch was quite different now as well. His bangs were now clear of his eyes, and he often wore a ponytail for his longer hair. He still enjoyed wearing flannels, and wore a black and white one. He also had blue shorts still.

"How's life been for ya’”?

~~~~~~~~

The three spent a couple hours catching up and simply just relaxing with each other. As chill as Mitch and Charles act, they still had busy moments with their lives too. It felt good to just stop and take a breather.

Eventually, Mitch suggested watching a movie, so snacks were set out and the lights were turned off. At this point it was night, with only the faint glow of streetlight coming through the closed blinds of the windows. Charles fell asleep leaning on Mitch, who had his arm around his shoulder and ate from a bag of chips. Tim ate popcorn, zoned out and tired.

"Hey bud, you still there?" Mitchell quietly asked Tim. Tim shook his head and rubbed one of his eyes.

"Surprisingly, yeah" He responded with a chuckle. He then looked down at Charles.

"He's not though" 

Mitch followed his gaze and smiled.

"Happens often. He doesn't get much sleep either" He put the chips down and petted his head. "Ha, remember that one sleepover we had when we were kids? The one where he decided to pull an all nighter and slept most of the day away?"

"Oh yea, that" Tim laughed as he recalled the memory. "Things were easier back then"

"Didn't you wait last minute to finish, like, all of your essays and stuff?" 

"... Things had less consequences back then" Tim corrected, and it was now Mitch's turn to laugh. They both sat in silence for a few minutes after that, trying to focus on the movie. Tim was the one to speak up. 

"Do you remember Robot Jones?"

Mitch remained quiet, which made Tim nervous.

"Just because we were talking about memories and stuff" He added, twiddling his thumbs.

"Well, of course I do, Tim. Sorry about that silence, I just... miss him, even though it was so long ago" Mitchell said, resting his head in his hand.

"No, I get it. I do too. Sorry for bringing him up" Tim looked away.

"You don't need to apologize. Actually reminds me of a lot of good times" Mitch tried to lighten the mood, faintly grinning. "We did a lot of fun stuff together, like going to Nob's and ditching a few times"

"So many great memories" Tim said with a smile. "Remember that band we formed?"

"'The Rock Stallions'? How could I forget!"

~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the movie was spent chatting about their childhoods and their lost friend. Once the film ended, Tim could barely keep his eyes open. Mitch knew what that meant.

"You can crash here tonight, it's really not a big deal. You can use our bed, I'm not really going anywhere" He offered, shutting off the TV and snuggling up to his partner. Tim stretched and sighed.

"Thanks, I don't know if I could make it back to my place" He mumbled and closed his eyes. "I'll just pass out here, if that's fine"

"Be my guest. Goodnight bro" Mitch said, half asleep. Tim let out a small noise and then slept.

Meanwhile, across Polyneux, someone just arose from a 13-year slumber.


End file.
